Skies of Arcadia: Darkmoon Legacy
by Cysma
Summary: 20 years after the events of Skies of Arcadia, a young Blue Rogue and his companions set off on a global journey to discover what has became of Vyse, but are caught in a conflict with a long lost civilization, the Kaguron...
1. Prologue

_**Skies of Arcadia: Darkmoon Legacy**_

Note From the Author

The following story is derived from a game design by the same author. While this game design is little more than an idea at the present, the author hopes that one day it may become a reality.

All characters, locations, and things pertaining to the original Skies of Arcadia video game are copyrights of Sega and Overworks. Everything else is property of the author.

**Prologue**

Flying high above a vast ocean of hot sand was an airship patrolling the region. Not just any airship, but a battleship armed with all the cannons and weaponry it can carry for the sake of defending the border of its nation. The ruler of this desert land demanded several of these ships to patrol the border of his kingdom, for he dreaded the thought of persistent thieves that may slip into the cities unnoticed and rob the kingdom of its riches. The battleships were intended to not only stop travelers from illegally entering and leaving the nation, but also to defend against Air Pirates, and now one particular ship was under siege by a group of them.

These pirates had their own ship and cannons to fight with, and when they got the two ships close enough, the crew would jump onto the deck of the patrol ship to take over. The crew of the defending ship ran out on deck as well, and a vicious clash of steel ensued.

Most of the Air Pirates traditionally fought with the cutlass, but a handful of them, the captain included, used guns to fight their foes. As the battle raged on, it became known that a particular member of the team stood out from the others in terms of fighting prowess. He was able to dodge, parry, sunder, and strike with ease, seemingly blessed with insect-like reflexes.

This talented swordsman was also quite young in comparison to his fellow raiders, not even old enough to legally consume alcoholic beverages for another two years. Thus, he was made more distinguishable from his kin by wearing a maroon uniform with the clan emblem proudly displayed on the chest: a large bird with feathers of fire. These Air Pirates called themselves the Phoenix Clan.

The captain made his way through the brawl to the youth, occasionally stopping to shoot down a defender. "Cysma…have you seen Nira anywhere?"

"I don't know, Vince. She might have gone below deck." The youth replied.

"By herself?" We have to find her!"

So then Captain Vince and his crewman Cysma made a break for it in the action and dashed below deck, cutting their way through the soldiers pouring out of the door.

"She may have headed for the bridge." The captain suggested, inferring that they head there.

The two fought their way through the hull of the ship and advanced to the bridge to find a girl about Cysma's age, dressed in silver uniform and carrying a wooden staff.

"Nira! Why did you go off on your own like that? What were you thinking?" The captain shouted, sounding a tad frustrated.

"Who is that?" Nira didn't answer the captain's question, but was curious about the figure that just killed the captain of the ship, not to mention everyone else on the bridge. The person wore brown from head to toe and not one ounce of flesh could be seen. He carried a gun in each hand and intended to kill the Air Pirates as well.

The three dodged the first round of the killer's bullets and charged in to attack. Cysma swung vigorously at the man with his sword, Nira her staff, and the captain stood at a distance to fight with his own gun.

But he was far too nimble to be hit, and wouldn't hold still. Nira put her hands together as an aura of red light glowed around her. When she spoke the word "Pyri", a series of flaming spheres burst from her hand at her adversary.

The man with two guns was not quick enough to react, and a fireball struck his hand, causing him to drop his weapons. Now disarmed, the figure jumped into the air and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Huh? Who was that? Where did he go?" Nira and everyone were full of questions such as this. After a few minutes of investigation, they found no answers.

Captain Vince looked out the bridge window and to the deck. The original owners of the ship were gone, and the pirates were waving their weapons in the air in victory.

"Mission accomplished." He smiled, "Let's take what we want and head back home."


	2. I: The Phoenix Clan

**Chapter I: The Phoenix Clan**

The Air Pirates returned to their base with their ship, the Pyrolisk, loaded with the spoils of the battle they just fought. When the remaining crew of the airship they had attacked surrendered, their lives were spared and their ship let go without its treasures. Such is the way of the Blue Rogues.

Not all Air Pirates are alike. All pirates consider themselves either Blue Rogues or Black Pirates depending on their policy. Black Pirates will pick off unarmed ships and steal from the defenseless, but Blue Rogues prefer a fair battle and will only fight if their adversaries can fight back. Black Pirates keep all the treasure to themselves, while Blue Rogues donate a share of their spoils to help those more in need than them.

Captain Vince of the Phoenix Clan had always had a kind heart and hated unfairness, so his band was unarguably of the Blue Rogue variety. The Clan's home base was hidden under a small village, and they supported the town with the gold they won. If it wasn't for these Blue Rogues, the village may have become a ghost town within weeks.

After docking in the cove hidden beneath the island, the crew began to unload the Pyrolisk and decide what should be done with each piece of treasure. Cysma helped carry the chests full of gold, while Nira helped organize the items.

Once all of the chests were taken care of, Cysma was dismissed for the remainder of the day, but he wanted to help out Nira with the sorting.

"Oh, that's nice of you, but I think I have it under control." She replied, "I'll call you if I do need help."

And so he went about chatting with his fellow rogues about the raid and what they did. Many of them were still busy, however, and he didn't want to get in the way, so he retired to his sleeping quarters.

The captain had taken quite a liking to Cysma and Nira, and due to that, as well as their stellar performance as Air Pirates, the two were given their own rooms in the base. Although those rooms consisted of little more than a bed, desk, drawers, and bookshelf, it was better off than the hammocks of the single-room sleeping quarters of the rest of the crew.

Cysma had been interested in books about the history and geography of Arcadia, particularly the tales of famous Air Pirates in the past. The most well known of them were Daccat and, much more recently, a Blue Rogue named Vyse.

Though it was only 20 years ago, not much information about Vyse could be found. But from the few records that do exist, it seems that Vyse had first struck out on his own when a mysterious young girl of unknown origin fell into his hands. Apparently she had an important mission that required her to travel to every continent in Arcadia. This mission also didn't sit well with the empire of the old Valua, and its commander and 6 admirals fought Vyse tooth and nail throughout his voyage, but he never gave up and even outwitted the armada numerous times. In fact, when Vyse was captured and imprisoned in the Grand Fortress, he escaped the supposedly inescapable prison and was even said to have kidnapped the heir to the Valuan throne on his way out!

Later on, the leader of the Armada turned his back on the empire just before it was completely destroyed by a tragic catastrophe. The evil commander had ambitious plans to conquer the rest of Arcadia with his forces, but Vyse had miraculously united the armies of all the other nations and fought back in the famous Battle of Soltis. All of the leaders of the Valuan Armada still alive were killed in that battle, and that day has since gone down in the annals of Arcadia forever and is even celebrated as a holiday every year.

The prince of Valua that Vyse had captured now lives on to this day as the king of the reformed kingdom of New Valua. Many of those who supported or sailed with Vyse are still alive today, but, ironically, there are no records hinting of the current whereabouts of Vyse himself. They say that he continued his life as a Blue Rogue, the girl he helped complete her mission even joining his crew, but the recorded history of him comes to a screeching halt there.

Cysma was fascinated by this historical mystery, and aspired to one day set off on a voyage to find the answer. He often talked to the crew about it, and quickly found out that a multitude of stories had been spun around the enigma. Some say he died during a raid, others say he got lost in the Dark Rift and discovered a door to another world. The tales only got more and more surreal from there. Vince suggests that Vyse still lives among the people of Arcadia, and that he may be closer than we think…

"Cysma?"

Nira had gone to check on him, only to find Cysma had fallen asleep at his reading desk, his face buried in the open book. She went to tap him on the shoulder, and he instantly sat straight up with a frightened look on his face. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"No…I'm fine." He replied quickly, "What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"Look at yourself! Your face is all covered in sweat!"

"Oh…um…just a bad dream I suppose."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes! I told you I was fine!" Cysma had a bit of a quick temper at times that would get him in trouble with his superiors, though Nira tried to help him with this.

"Was it about Tofenn?"

Cysma sighed discontentedly. "Now that you mention it, yes it was."

"Ahh…I see." Nira understood what he dreamt of. As memories of one's past can resurface in dreams, Tofenn was a particular memory Cysma and Nira wish they could forget.

It was the name of the town they grew up in, a town that was destroyed by an unknown force a decade ago. With Cysma and Nira's families gone, they were the only survivors. It was even a miracle for them to even be alive today, as it was Vince that saved them as children that fateful day.

Nira has learned to forgive and forget, and hopes that the ones that attacked their village will one day see the error of their ways and repent. For Cysma, however, those assailants were beyond redemption. Throughout the ten years and counting as an Air Pirate, his desire to one day become stronger and get even with the murderers of his family and friends only grew. He often channeled his anger into fighting and struck down his enemies with such ferocity that he felt no remorse for knowing that he was taking lives. Indeed, his strength was fueled by hatred.

"Anyways, I came to tell you that we'll be heading out to Skyport City tomorrow morning to sell our leftover goods at the market. You'd better get a good night's sleep, as we're waking up early." Cysma nodded to show that he understood what Nira had to say, and she left him.

As he lay in his bed that night, he wondered when the opportunity to find the destroyer of Tofenn might arise. He vividly remembers the face of the one that personally killed his parents, so he would make that man the first target…

When Cysma awakened that morning, he looked around the base to find it empty and silent. Did he oversleep? Did the Phoenix Clan leave without him? He ran up to the surface of the island to find out.

It was actually too early for him. The sun was only just coming up, and only the early birds of the village were awake. Seeing it pointless to head back to sleep, he decided to take a walk around the village.

As he walked along the edge of the island, he stared out into the sky. Unlike our world, Arcadia isn't covered by oceans of water, but rather air instead. All land consisted of islands floating in the sky, and people traveled between them in airships fueled by the falling fragments of the six moons, which are known as moonstones.

Eventually the others awakened, and Vince ran out to tell Cysma that they will be departing. "Glad to see you were up early." The captain added, "Usually we have to drag you out of bed to get you going!"

With the crew and leftover treasures aboard, the Pyrolisk left its dock and flew out from beneath the island. Cysma and Nira were out on deck, enjoying the fresh morning breeze while serving as lookouts, but their pleasant moods quickly faded as they sighted an unsettling figure in the distance.

"That ship…that flag…No, it can't be!" Nira was shocked, "Captain, there are Black Pirates heading straight for us!"

As soon as Vince received the message, his crew deployed their weapons and the ship's cannons. The enemy ship drew its arms as well, but with at least a dozen cannons sprouting from each side of the hull! "This isn't any Black Pirate, it must be Gault!" Cysma observed.

Gault was a Black Pirate feared across Mid Ocean, known for attacking without warning and raiding helpless ships swiftly. Because of him, many merchants from around the world were afraid to trade anywhere near his self-proclaimed territory. Because of his proximity to the Phoenix Clan, he and Vince's crews often clashed.

Gault's ship, the Pisesuvate, fired all of its cannons in sequence at the Pyrolisk. Several cannonballs hit their target and struck the side of the ship, causing its crew to lose their balance. The airship tilted in the direction it was shot, and Cysma was scrambling for something to hold onto. Vince ran out on deck to help him and Nira just as the Pisesuvate had released a strange projectile straight up into the sky.

"Cysma! Nira! Hang on!" Vince was frantic in trying to help his crew, reaching for their hands as they slid towards the edge of the deck. It was then that the skybound projectile, a torpedo, struck the deck head on and flung debris and crewmembers in every direction. Cysma, Nira, and Vince were all blasted off the ship and into the sky…


	3. II: Land of the Green Moon

**Chapter II: Land of the Green Moon**

Cysma opened his eyes to see only darkness. He was slowly regaining consciousness, but still lacked the energy. He tried lifting his head to see a mixed blur of brown and green. He blinked a few times to clear up his vision, and those colors became a solid vision of a dirt ground and some strange branches around him. It seems he was in a forest of some sort, but he also wanted to know where his allies were.

"Nira? Vince?"

They both responded by calling out his own name. Their voices came from behind him, but Cysma couldn't turn himself around. In fact, he wasn't able to move any of his limbs at all!

He looked down to realize that he was caught in an entanglement of thorny vines, and that they were tightening around his body like a snake, the thorns piercing into his skin. Cysma struggled to get at least one arm free to grab the sword strapped across his back, but he only cut himself more on the organic bonds.

"I can't…move!" He declared, frustrated and in pain.

"We're the same way." Vince replied. "This is some welcome hug!"

"Don't struggle. You'll make it worse." A different voice replied, one that neither Cysma, Nira, nor even Vince had recognized. "Hold still!"

The vines around Cysma suddenly burst into flames. A high-pitched scream rang out as the bonds quickly weakened and dropped him to the ground. Nira and Vince were soon to follow.

Their savior was a person wearing a strange tribal mask and a light outfit made of scales. He held a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows was strapped over his back. What was even more intriguing than his getup was the fact that the arrows he shot were suddenly set ablaze when he let go of the bowstring!

"You…you saved us!" Nira exclaimed. "Thank you, whoever you are!"

"Don't thank me yet. We're still not done." The archer said.

The plant that had ensnared the three Blue Rogues had a mind of its own. The vines were moving like tentacles, and the creature reared its large head, which looked not unlike that of a Venus flytrap. The man with the bow was trying to keep the hostile vegetation at bay with his flaming arrows, but that alone was not enough. The four of them had to fight it together.

As the many vines approached the group, Cysma drew his sword and cut them short. Vince took shots at the head of the creature with his gun, and Nira did the best she could with her staff. Cysma was working his way through the vines, aiming for the head when he suddenly felt a sharp pain within himself. The vines' thorns had secreted poison into Cysma's veins, and the venom was finally taking its toll on his bloodstream. He fell to his knees and clenched his chest in agony, as the poison was now attacking his heart. Unable to fight, the creature's vines grabbed him again, lifting him up to its head.

Nira couldn't stand the sight of Cysma in such danger, and knew she needed to take action. She focused her mind on her knowledge of Silver magic and shouted, "Curia!" as she pointed toward her troubled friend.

Within seconds, Cysma was feeling well again as the magic had neutralized the venom in his body. Still entangled, he gripped his cutlass in his right hand and raised it over his head, finally bringing it down through the creature's head.

The vine monster's head was now severed in two, the vines flailing wildly and dropping Cysma back to the ground. By the time he got back to his feet, the entire creature had shriveled up and withered like a dead flower.

Now that all apparent danger was gone for the moment, the Air Pirates three turned to their rescuer. "Thank you for saving us." Nira was the first to speak. "We would've been plant food if it weren't for you!"

The masked man shook his head. "I don't think you would have. By the way you fought, your skill, I doubt you needed my help in the first place." His voice gave the others the notion that he was quite young, perhaps a year or two younger than Cysma and Nira. This made Cysma in particular eager to get to the point.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Cysma blurted.

"I am called Snipakuta," He began, "And you are in the Horteka Forest. I could ask who you are and why you are here."

"Well, we were thrown off our ship when Black Pirates attacked us, and the next thing we know, we're here." Vince explained, not feeling the need to spare the details.

"I see. Speak more." Snipakuta did not seem to have a large vocabulary.

"Do you live around here?" Nira asked. "You must certainly know a safer place where we can sort things out. We're confused as well."

Snipakuta nodded. "Ah, yes. My city, Cetzan, is just over this way." He pointed in a direction behind him. "Come along." And he headed off in that direction, the Blue Rogues following him.

As they headed through the foliage, other creatures jumped out to attack them. Snipakuta made short work of these beasts with his bow.

Nira began to wonder, "Are you a hunter or something?"

"Yes. I am a hunter. I protect my people from bad monsters in the forest."

"Really..." Vince said. "But you look a bit young to be going out hunting all by yourself."

"There is no need for Snipakuta to worry. I have eyes sharper than an eagle's and reflexes faster than a fly. I get these traits from my father, once also a great hunter."

At last they reached a massive complex of stone buildings and people milling about. They had finally reached the city of Cetzan.

"Ah yes, Cetzan...capital of Ixa'Taka." Vince thought out loud. "This continent sure has changed over the years."

Snipakuta didn't give them time to stare in awe. "We don't see outsiders very much here. Maybe the king would like to meet you." Thus, he took them up a large square pyramid with stairs paved with gold. The top of the pyramid gave them a spectacular view of the entire city as well as a curious mountain range behind it, but they were rushed inside the throne room to speak with the king.

The inside of the king's residence would make one think that his name were Midas. Not only was the throne and all other furnishings made of pure gold, but the walls, floor and ceiling as well.

"Wow! Everything's golden in here. We could make a fortune!" Nira exclaimed.

"How so? By stealing everything?" The king spoke. "The three of you look like Air Pirates. Troublemakers like you would not be welcome in my city."

"Oh no, we didn't come here to raid your kingdom, sir," Vince responded. "We're here by mistake. One of your people brought us here, and we are only looking for a way to get back to where we came from."

"Hmm..." The king looked into the captain's eyes, trying to decipher his true intent. "I don't sense any hostility within you for the time being. You may go, but I want the one that brought you here to watch you. There are consequences to pay if you ever betray my trust."

Cysma and Nira let out a loud sigh of relief. Vince smiled at the king. "Thank you, king. You won't regret trusting us." They were then escorted out of the king's palace and down to ground level by the guards.

When they got back down, Vince turned to the rest. "I would like to light a signal flare and see if the rest of the crew can't find us. You can have as many guards accompanying me as you like." With that, they were split into two groups, one consisting of Vince and a few of the king's guards, the other being Cysma, Nira, and Snipakuta.

"Snipakuta..." Cysma was wanting to ask a question to him for a while. "You mentioned your father was a hunter earlier...what was his name?"

"Tikatika is my father. He was a great hunter long ago, but not anymore. I hunt in his place."

"Wait, you mean THE Tikatika?" Cysma recognized the name from the chronicles of Vyse and the crew members he had hired from all over Arcadia.

"I don't know what you mean, but I can take you to my father."

They were led to a modest house with a man sitting in a bamboo chair. He looked around anxiously as he heard the door open. "Snipakuta, son? Is that you?"

"Yes father. I also have outsiders that would like to hear your stories." His son replied.

"Really? Those are outsiders standing beside you?"

Snipakuta turned to speak to Cysma and Nira. "My father has recently fallen ill with a sickness that is taking his health and eyesight. It is becoming more difficult for him to see each day."

There were few places to sit down, and they were not yet invited to sit, so Nira sat down on the floor in front of Tikatika and Cysma just leaned against a wall. Between sickly coughs, Tikatika told them his story.

"Before any of you were born, I was a great hunter that could see better than any bird. I watched for incoming ships in a village called Horteka. The reason why I looked out was to watch for Quetya, a goddess that helped our people in generations past. When people came on fire-breathing ships from the east, the same direction Quetya had come from, we had all thought our savior had returned.

We gave them a great welcome, but they were not Quetya, and did not want to help us, but rather use and abuse us. They were looking for the sacred Green Stone of Ixa'Taka, and demanded that we give it to them. That was something we could not do. They beat us and tortured us and took us to a mountain to mine green moonstones. They searched for the sacred stone in the forest by burning it down with their fiery ships.

One day, a small group of pirates came looking for the same thing. We thought they were no different from the people with the metal ships, even though one of the crew looked very much like our Quetya. However, these people fought back against the ones that were burning down our forests, and even freed our own from the mines! Even so, we would not surrender our sacred Green Stone, and lied to them about where it was as well.

We thought we could fight back against the bad men by using the stone to awaken a giant named Grendel, but the king could not control the giant, and started to destroy everything in sight.

Yet the pirates that saved us from the mines came in their ship and stopped Grendel from killing us all, and the bad men ran away. We gave them the sacred Green Stone as thanks for saving us."

Cysma and Nira had been listening to this very intently. "Who were those pirates, anyway?" Cysma asked him.

"Their captain at that time was called Drachma. Later, one of his former crew members, Vyse, hired me to be on his crew as a lookout. Eventually, though, I returned home."

"So you ARE the Tikatika that sailed with Vyse!" Cysma said, excited.

"But wait, Horteka was also the name of the forest we came from. What happened to Horteka as a village?" Nira inquired.

"Shortly before my son was born, ships that embodied darkness itself completely destroyed the village. I was one of the few able to escape. We then named one of Ixa'Taka's forests after that village."

"Ships that embodied darkness itself" made Cysma think of the destruction of his own childhood village. That was another way to describe those ominous vessels, as well as the dark figure that used dark magic to dispose of his father among many other residents of the village. The image of that killer still haunted him.

"During my travels with Vyse..." Tikatika began again, but couldn't continue due to a coughing fit. He clutched his chest and fell to the floor.

"Father! You may have been speaking too much now. Take a rest." His son picked him up and placed him in a bed in one corner of the house, then said to Nira and Cysma, "My father can not do much these days. There still are mines that dig up green moonstones like in his story. I can show you the mines if you like."

"Yeah! Let's go!" Nira replied. "Do you think we could have any? We could use some of those moonstones."

Snipakuta nodded. "You can buy them in a shop near the mines. I'll take you there."

They left the house and headed down the city streets once more. Vince came back to them and said that their ship had returned, its crew safe, but the Firebird needs some repairs before they can leave safely.

Just as they had neared the entrance to the mines, one person, presumably a miner, ran out covered in dirt and blood. "Snipakuta, it's terrible! Something very bad has happened in the mines!"


End file.
